Since the marketization of long-term elder care services, the number of service providers seeking economies of scale and scope has increased. Economies of scale and scope represent cost efficiencies : while the former can be achieved by extending firm size, the latter can be achieved by expanding the product line to generate increase profits. Concerning long-term elder care services, the service-providing corporations can achieve economies of scale and scope by increasing the number of same-service providers and expanding the service fields to seek greater cost efficiencies. However, a trade-off occurs between efficiency and service quality when providing public services. Therefore, this study explores the advantages and disadvantages of seeking economies of scale and scope in the long-term elder care services markets by analyzing their effects on the performance of providers and on the quality of services for users. The results indicate that economies of scale and scope may create some efficiencies for the service providers. The results also indicate that emphasizing economies of scale and scope may involve some degree of sacrifice in the quality of service for users.

From a “mechanisms of governance” perspective from transaction cost theory, this study is focused on two strategic questions about system introduction of long-term care insurance in China―what is its significance to the current delivery system and what is the future direction for the marketization policy. The answerers to the questions can be summarized as follows. First, the system introduction of long-term care insurance can be taken as a kind of “orbital adjustment” to the past and current delivery system. It might be helpful for fixing problems in the current market and lowering the governance cost. Second, by the decreasing birthrate and aging population, China face the further asset specificity increasing problem in long-term care transaction. For keeping the care delivery system in good condition and the governance cost at an acceptable level, stricter conditions for receiving insurance benefits and a substantial increase in supply quantity are essential to the future policy.

Korea’s social security scheme is characterized by “low cost-low benefits”, “minimizing the public burden”, and emphasizing that “the role of private service suppliers should outweigh that of public suppliers”. These features apply to long-term care services, which were introduced in 2008, some 10 years ago. It is said that the new services were a trigger to a shift from selective welfare to universal welfare. The long-term care scheme has achieved some successful outcomes, including expanding the welfare infrastructure, increasing the number of beneficiaries and creating new opportunities for employment. However, new problems have arisen, including an increase in social hospitalization, mismatches between the demand and supply for care services and some improper activities of local governments ; these should not be ignored. It goes without saying that these problems have been caused by the introduction of the long-term care scheme.

This article considers these issues and enhances our understanding of the long-term care scheme in Korea. I focus on the introduction of the scheme and outline its development, examine its 10-year outcomes, and utilize findings from interviews conducted with care service suppliers in August 2018.

Japan’s youth-related policies are not always in harmony with actual conditions faced by young people in need of special social support. There are concerns about the value of the support schemes that have been developed, so it is important to examine different cases to learn which practices have proven most effective. To further our understanding, this report analyzes schemes used in the Kitashiba area of Minoh City, Osaka Prefecture.

This area has been developing an approach, described as “Collective Town”, in which the resident youths themselves create the necessary activities for the community. In recent years, the policies for providing support for youth and for poor and needy people have come to be based on community development activities. Young people involved do not simply receive unilateral support, but are also challenged to create a place of belonging （ibasho）, to find opportunities for work, and to exchange information with the broader society―in short, to find various ways of returning to society.

In conclusion, the following three conditions were confirmed as being effective for bolstering the self-reliance of young people. Young people should be receive community support, there should be a place where young people can acquire social capital in stages, and the scheme should aim to promote self-reliance not only by helping young people to find employment, but also by making them part of an inclusive community.

The first purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how socially troubled persons who gather in social ibasho （a place where one feels at home） become able to generate both dignity among individuals and a willingness to participate in society ; the second purpose is to demonstrate that people providing support to troubled persons can also （re） enter society through ibasho. In summary, various surveys and research projects demonstrate the importance of ibasho. In order to arrive at this conclusion, I have analyzed the results of participation observation research and interviews conducted at X workplace and γ cafe, along with extensively reviewing the relevant academic literature.

In conclusion, I present two main findings. An ibasho is a social place where people who have social problems can have equal relationships and learn the social roles that they should play. That is, they create relationships that are mutually recognized through circulating care, marking the first step towards self-realization. Another finding was that the supporters involved in these social places and the residents living nearby were empowered along with the creation of equal relationships, bringing about equal respect and a circulation of care.

The paper analyzes the structure of the labor market in the monadic society, maintaining that some kind of redistribution is needed for securing smooth adjustment, and that redistribution should be based on the principle of “merit-free egalitarianism”. The term “monadic society” represents a new stage in the history of civil society from around the 1990s. In this society a new type of social policy is emerging. It is based on the principle of merit-free egalitarianism, which is different from the 20^th century principle of merit-based egalitarianism. Labor markets had been regulated on the principle of merit-based egalitarianism, but this regime has become dysfunctional due to the increased fluidity of the labor market. The paper shows that this phenomena is a natural trend, and that support based on solidarity is necessary. Here, solidarity means cooperation in order to secure self-determination, and social policies are trending in this exact direction. The principle of merit-free egalitarianism should be established as a social norm to promote progress.

In this article, I analyze the American temporary worker staffing business using a historical overview, focusing in particular on the distinctive features of Travel Nurses, registered nurses who work for temporary staffing agencies. The examination looks into an occupation that enables the worker to earn a living and build a successful career, even if employed as an agency temporary worker. Today, Japanese temporary workers are working for low wages and often with little job security. We need to prohibit discrimination in labor management based on employment status. Therefore, it is necessary to establish systems that afford workers the right to self-determination, and make it less likely that temporary worker will be disadvantaged.

Since the 2000s, we have seen movements toward creating “Good work environments” based on such factors as work-life-balance and diversity management. It is essential that workers be proactive in order to create “Good work environment for workers” instead of work environments where employees simply do as managers command. What would be required for workers to realize “Good work environments” ? This study analyzes the case of the Suntory Group, which has been making concerted efforts from both the labour and management sides, aiming to clarify what roles the Suntory Workers Union played in generating a better work environment. In the Suntory Group, continuous attempts have succeeded in reducing work hours. The Suntory Workers Union contributed to this success by making determined efforts to intervene in the process. Above all, the union consistently utilized questionnaires to understand worker views about the campaign and then relayed these workplace voices to management.

This paper examines the present situation of mixed medical care treatment in South Korea, and makes a contribution to the discussion about mixed medical care treatment in Japan. The South Korean government began to recognize mixed medical care treatment in 1977, which also marked the inception of the country’s public medical insurance system. Furthermore, the recognition of mixed medical care treatment has resulted in the expansion of medical services not covered by public medical insurance. This situation has expanded the market for real-loss type private medical insurance. Recognition of mixed medical care treatments has produced the following effects. First, the volume of excessive medical care treatment has increased as a result of the new incentives ; one example is juvenile thyroid gland cancer. Second, private insurance companies and medical institutions have generated increased profits, but the medical well-being of the public has worsened. Third, the change from public to private insurance has brought about inequality in access to medical care with regard to income, chronic disease and age. Fourth, the shift in medical care treatment toward a profit basis means that medical treatment has become motivated not by medical science but by profit-making.

Some small municipalities in Japan have recently started supplying a cash allowance to parents rearing their infants or young children at home without using childcare services. These new policies can be expected to provide support to all parents who want to care for their infants and young children by themselves, whereas previous home care allowance policies were available to only a limited number of parents, mainly those working as regular employees.

For the introduction of a truly universal childrearing scheme, the importance of supporting all parents must be formally accepted. In addition, we must ensure that we avoid the assumptions of the male-breadwinner model.

This article examines the context of the policies for the introduction of a cash allowance for infants and childcare in 6 small municipalities in Tottori Prefecture. In the local policy context, the policy was successfully implemented in part because it emphasized the importance of providing universal support to parents and avoided the introduction of a male-breadwinner model. These policies complement the original childcare support policy that was available to only a limited number of workers. Furthermore, the policies provide valuable job and childcare support to residents, and help to maintain the families’ local communities.

This paper analyzes factors influencing public opinion regarding the Public Assistance system in Japan. It uses data from an internet-based public opinion survey conducted in 2016. In doing so, the paper identifies the people’s belief that poverty is caused by the poor themselves （meaning that they should take self-responsibility for being inpoverished） and also the belief that poverty can only be solved by the poor themselves （meaning that the poor can escape poverty only through their own efforts） regardless of the reasons for their poverty.The analysis reveals that first of all, there is no clear evidence that the working-poor class are opposed to the Public Assistance, even though this is a widely believed hypothesis. Second, the belief that the poor are responsible for the causes of their own poverty and the belief that the poor are responsible for getting themselves out of poverty both exist independently, and they both influence how people think about the Public Assistance.